


These Monsters In My Closet Are Watching Over Me (The Days Are Getting Shorter, And At Night It's Hard To Sleep)

by bottomlouislarry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Harry's really sweet, Hurt/Comfort, Kisses, M/M, Pet Names, insecure!louis, it's cute i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 06:45:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9644945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bottomlouislarry/pseuds/bottomlouislarry
Summary: "Harry has seen him at his absolute worst. Times when Louis has given up and collapses in his arms, shivering and crying and whispering words of defeat, and Harry clings to every breath."





	

**Author's Note:**

> I just really needed this.

Harry hummed as he fluttered his fingers over the side of Louis' tear stained face, tucking some hair behind his boyfriend's ear, leaning back against the pillow and shutting his eyes. 

The weight of his love asleep on his chest is the most comforting thing in the world to him. He could stay like this forever, in the dark glow of their bedroom, listening to Louis' breathing against the rush of his own heart in his ears. 

The thing is, Louis never gives in to anyone but Harry like this. No one has ever experienced Louis completely vulnerable but him and he's convinced his boyfriend is an angel while everyone else thinks he's a mischievous demon. 

He's always putting up walls and shutting people out, avoiding his feelings with humor or running away from the situation, but it's different with Harry. 

Harry has seen him at his absolute worst. Times when Louis has given up and collapses in his arms, shivering and crying and whispering words of defeat, and Harry clings to every breath. 

It hurts to see Louis like that. It burns his eyes and creeps down into his throat and lungs. Makes his heart beat irregularly and his hands shake as they smooth his boyfriend's hair back to kiss his forehead. Makes his voice quiver when he tells him everything will be ok. 

It's a beautifully terrible sound, Louis' crying. He doesn't sob or scream or hiccup. He curls into himself on Harry's lap and lets out small sounds of struggle, trying to keep it in, until Harry runs a hand down his back and he shudders and exhales shakily, and the tears come silently. Every now and then he'll whimper out Harry's name and hide in the crook of the taller boy's neck and it breaks his heart even more.

Harry just kisses any visible skin and holds him close, shushing him and whispering sweet nothings in his ear. 

He's blessed honestly. It's the most difficult thing he ever has to do, seeing Louis like that. But he's blessed that he has someone who trusts him enough to let it all out, someone he loves with every fiber of his being. 

Harry thinks he's beautiful. Always so beautiful, even when he cries. His eyes shine bluer than usual against the contrast of blood-shot red, cheeks dusted a soft pink and his brow furrowed into a small line that Harry always wants to kiss away. His lips worried between white teeth that Harry would rather see pulled up into a giggly smile. 

He pulled the smaller boy up a bit so that he had his head on his shoulder, nose brushing the chains of his necklaces. Soothing his hands up and down Louis' back, Harry kissed the top of his head and smiled solemnly down to him, eyes fixed on the remnants of distress on Louis' pretty face. 

"I love you," Harry whispered into the dark, even though Louis couldn't hear him. 

Louis whimpered in his sleep and Harry tightened his arms around his waist, knowing what was coming.

When Louis falls asleep upset, he gets nightmares. Bad ones, to the point of waking up shaking and crying, making Harry shoot up in bed from his sleep to make sure his baby is ok. 

Sometimes they're about people he loves dying, sometimes about the boys hating him, sometimes about management, fans, concerts going wrong. Sometimes about Harry, even. 

Louis starts shifting around and his breath hitches, his fingers tightening into a fist on Harry's chest. 

Harry leans up a bit on the elbow under Louis, keeping that arm around him and brushing his thumb of his other hand on his cheek. "Wake up, Lou," he says shaking him a bit. 

He whimpers and turns his head away from Harry. 

"C'mon, love." Harry said again, running fingers through his boyfriend's hair. He hated nights like this, hated seeing Louis so disturbed. "C'mon. Wake up for me, sweetheart." 

He jostled Louis one more time after a series of Louis' panicked twisting in his grip until he opened his eyes and shot up off the taller boy's chest, gasping. 

Harry immediately sat up into Louis' view, grabbing his face to make him look him in the eye. "It's ok, it's ok, I'm here," he says in a comforting voice. 

"Harry," he breaths out, panicked, until he is pulled into an embrace. 

"Deep breaths, dove," Harry pulls him into his lap and runs a hand over the curve of the smaller boy's side. 

Louis pants into Harry's neck for a few seconds, still. He grips his boyfriend's bicep hard and digs his nails into it, but Harry pays no attention to it, too focused on soothing the boy in his arms. 

"Shhhh," he whispers. "It's ok, babe, it's ok. Calm down, darling." 

Louis' breathing starts to even out a bit, still shuddery but enough to make Harry feel a bit less frantic to calm him. 

"You're ok, sweetie, everything's ok." Harry whispers it in his ear, kissing the skin below Louis' ear lobe.

The older boy shivers and nods, shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath. 

Harry pulls him back a little to look him in the face and wipes away a stray tear. "You ok?" 

Louis covers the hand on his face with his own. "Yeah."

Harry smiles and leans in to kiss his forehead. He pulls back, tucking a loose strand behind his own ear and laying down again, pulling Louis down with him. "Try to relax, ok dove?" 

Louis nodded, sighing and relaxing into Harry. 

The taller boy kissed his head and laid back, shutting his eyes. 

"Haz?" Louis' small voice broke through the silence in the room, making Harry open his eyes. 

"Yes, love?" He answered, brushing a strand of the boy's brown hair out of his face. 

Louis looked up at him through his eyelashes, his head on Harry's chest. "Have you ever..." He trailed off, looking down again. 

"Hm?" Harry pushed gently, always gently. 

Louis sighed quietly before continuing, not making eye contact with Harry. "You love me, yeah? And that'll never change?" 

Harry stopped all movements, dumbfounded. He furrowed his brow, sitting up again and pulling Louis up in front of him. "Louis." 

Louis didn't look up. 

"Honey, look at me." Harry intertwined his fingers with Louis', his other hand lifting Louis' chin to look at him. "Let me see those pretty eyes," he grinned.

Louis smiled and blushed, finally locking eyes with him. 

"There he is," Harry's grin widened. "C'mere," he says, pulling Louis over his lap so he's straddling him. 

Harry's hands traveled down bare arms, boney wrists, soft fingertips, to thick thighs and back up around Louis' waist. He hummed, admiring Louis' bare chest, leaning in and pressing a kiss to his boy's collarbone. 

He leaned back, bringing a hand up and pressing his fingers into the skin where his lips just were. "Now," he whispered, "let me tell you something." 

Louis looked at him with a sparkle in his eyes as Harry kissed his other collarbone, smiling softly when his boyfriend looked back up at him. 

Harry leaned forward until their foreheads were touching and their noses were brushing. He breathed in deep.

"There are a lot of things that I can promise you. I can promise that the sun will rise tomorrow morning. I can promise that the sky will stay blue, and the grass will stay green, and the flowers will bloom, and the butterflies will still flutter. I can also promise that the sun will never shine as bright as you, and the sky will never compare to the blue in your eyes, and the flowers will never be as beautiful and vibrant and bright as you, and the butterflies I get when I see you will never ever stop fluttering." 

Louis' lips were parted as he closed his eyes, nose still brushing Harry's as a blush crept up his chest and warmed the skin over his cheek bones. 

"All those things I'm sure of. But I will never be as sure as I am when I tell you that I love you, and I will always, always love you." 

Louis opened his eyes again, looking into Harry's quickly before he leaned forward and kissed him gently, brushing his fingers over his boyfriend's jaw. 

When they pulled away, Harry pressed one more chaste kiss to his mouth. "I don't know what you dreamt about, baby, and you don't have to tell me. But, whatever it was, I want you to forget it completely. Don't you ever, ever think I'll love you any less than I do, and I love you more than anything. Ok?" 

Louis let out a small huff of a laugh, nodding. 

Harry grinned and leaned forward, giving Louis a small Eskimo kiss and pulling him closer. "Good."

Louis yawned and Harry chuckled.

"How about we sleep now, yeah?" 

Louis just nodded, shuffling down a bit so he could cuddle into Harry's chest and press his face to his neck, breathing in left over cologne and strawberry body wash. 

Harry laid down again, pulling the blanket up from his knees, it having shimmied down with all their movement, keeping Louis against him and sighing. He shut his eyes. 

"Goodnight, Haz."

"Night, Lou." 

Louis nuzzled his neck. "Love you." 

Harry smiled. "Love you too, babe."


End file.
